Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1887-09-23
CITY SHAMELESS.
A LOOK INTO A BIG NEW YORK
SLAUGHTER HOUSE.
a Place where 400 Cattle and
800 Sheep and Calves are
Killed Daily-Utilizing the
Blood and Horns, Etc.

Few of the thousands of men in this
big town who are strengthened every
day by juicy beefsteak ever think how
far the steak has been brought, or
through what various processes it has
been put before being placed smoking on
the plate, savory and tempting. A re-
porter who was ignorant about the
evolution of the beefsteak started out for
information on the subject, and he Incl
dentally learned something about NUT
ton and veal.
1t was learned in the stock yards at the
foot of Sixtieth street, close to the Hud-
son river, that New York State does not
furnish cattle enough in one year to sup
ply the market of this city for one day.
The stock yards have accommodations
Tor 5000 calves, $1,000 sheep, and 1000
cattle, but they ore called upon very sell
dom to take care of such large number;
besides, the arrivals are only temporary
boarders, consigned to large meat dealers
in this city. The cattle sometimes re-
main in the stock yards but a brief hour,
and never more than day. A great
many of them, however, have but short
distance to go to the shambles.
AT the foot of Fifty-ninth street is
situated one of the best equipped slaugh-
ter houses in the United States. Four
hundred cattle are killed there every day
and 500 sheep and calves are there made
ready for the butchers stalls. This i'm
mense building is built of brick and
covers at least two acres of ground II
there is any virtue in being killed neatly
and quickly, the cattle brought to this
slaughter house have reason to be con-
graduated. No tough-sinewed cattle are
brought here to have their hides taken
off, but fat, juicy critters from Illinois and
Indiana, and the knee deep bluegrass
region of Kentucky. There are but two
floors to the building. To the beams of the
upper floor are fastened thousands of iron
hooks, pendant from which there hung
yesterday half acre of beef, veal and
mutton. Great stalls, ribbed with iron
bars, are ranged along each side of the
upper floor, and into these the cattle are
driven early in the morning. Two men
are required to kill steer. A stout
rope is fastened around the animals hind
legs, and his body is lifted in the air by
mems of a windlass, so that his fore
shoulders and head rest on the floor.
simultaneously sharp blow is struck
upon his forehead and his jugular vein is
severed.
Those who are anxious to see the Grim
son flood spoken of in story books should
goto the shambles at any time during the
day between the hours of A. NJ. and 6
U M Eooh animal hJno1a fro~o ooo
half to two gallons, and this sauguinary
current flows steadily all day and pours
down through an iron shoot in the as
phalt flooring into an iron cradle on
wheels, placed there to receive it. The
contents of these cradles is poured into
an iron vat, where it is boiled to thick,
dough-like consistency. From the vat it
is placed in bags and pressed in huge
machine, from which it issues in the shape
of big cakes two inches thick. These
cakes are then thrown into a machine,
which dries and grinds them SO that a
substance as fine as coffee is thrown out
of the machine. 1t is then put in bags
and sold for fertilizing purposes.
Blood prepared in this manner is of
great value as manure and brings from
$40 to $50 ton. After the bullock is
dead he is hoisted up clear of the floor
and his jacket is taken off. His heart
and liver are removed and he is cut into
two pieces down the back. The loose
flesh around the neck Is carefully
skewered up and he is ready for the
market. In the meantime the other
portions of his body which are not
marketable as food with the exception of
his hoofs are tried out and the fat
separated. The residuum is dried and
ground. A fertilizer is made from this
remainder which brings $50 ton.
The horns are sold and made into knife
handles and buttons and the hoofs are
sent to the late Peter Cooper's glue fac
tory. The skulls, after every particle of
meat has been removed, are ground into
bone dust. The hides are salted down
for week or ten days and then disposed
of to leather manufacturers Every
night at 6 o'clock the place is treated to
a bath, and when the workmen are
through squirting portion of the North
River around the floor the establishment
is as clean and sweet as kitchen floor in
we'll regulated house -Nep York San.